The first olive tree was planted in the Sydney Botanical Gardens in 1800. Since then, Australia has become a land of olive oil production and consumption, with distinct and convinced expansion since the 1960s.
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world and the first in Oceania to host 5-9 September in Melbourne the 2016 edition of Sol d’Oro Southern Hemisphere – the Veronafiere competition dedicated to extra virgin olive oils produced south of the equator (open to entries with two different labels).
Registration and delivery of samples: 1-31 August 2016 (info on www.solagrifood.com/en/exhibitors-area/sol-doro-competition).
The first edition was held in 2014 after splitting Sol d’Oro in two – the most important competition in the world dedicated to quality extra virgin olive oils – to create an event travelling among new producers countries (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) in the “opposite” season to the Mediterranean area, where olive growing dates back thousands of years. The two first editions of Sol d’Oro Southern Hemisphere were hosted by Chile and South Africa.
The event in Australia is sponsored and supported by the Government of Victoria (Vic Gov), which views Sol d’Oro Southern Hemisphere as an incentive for the qualitative growth of the local olive oil sector and its international promotion. Two economic focus events are specifically dedicated to market opportunities on the final day of event, after the announcement of the winners and a guided tasting of the award-winning olive oils.
The event also enjoys the patronage of the Italian Consulate and is organised in collaboration with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Melbourne.
The jury of international panellists under the guidance of Marino Giorgetti, Panel Leader of Sol d’Oro since its first edition in 2002 with the aim of ensuring the consistency and assessment rigour that have always characterised the competition, will make awards to olive oils selected after a sequence of “blind tastings”. The Competition has three categories: delicate fruity, medium fruity, intense fruity.
Oils winning awards at Sol d’Oro Southern Hemisphere will be entitled to affix the Sol d’Oro, Sol d’Argento and Sol di Bronzo “quality stickers”; they will be presented, together with the winners of the Sol d’Oro Northern Hemisphere awards in December 2017, to international buyers at the Oil Bar during the next edition of Sol&Agrifood – International Exhibition of Quality Agro-Foods (9-12 April 2017) and included in the “Sol d’Oro” Stellar Guide published every year by Veronafiere and distributed to buyers and journalists from all over the world.
Samples can be entered for the Sol d’Oro competition following registration and delivery 1-31 August 2016. The regulations, registration form and further information are all available at www.solagrifood.com/en/exhibitors-area/sol-doro-competition
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